Fundraiser gleans $8K for Ontonagon girl

New wheelchair needed

October 30, 2012

ONTONAGON - For 10-year-old Anna Wiseman, activities like playing outside in the snow or going out in the woods aren't as easy as they are for other people. Since her birth, she has been living with osteogenesis imperfecta, otherwise known as brittle bone disease, a condition that causes her to break bones with great ease.

Confined to a wheelchair her entire life, Anna is in need of a replacement chair if she wants to be able to go outside without having to worry about getting stuck. A recent fundraiser held for her totaled, in conjunction with other donations, $8,000. A new wheelchair for Anna will cost $12,000.

"She's getting older. She needs her independence," said Angie Arble, Anna's mother. "We can't carry her anymore. If we trip or something it could be hazardous."

Anna has already had 300 fractures due to her condition.

"Poor kid goes through hell and back and yet she still carries a smile every day," Arble said.

Arble doesn't know when she will have the money to be able to buy a new wheelchair. She said that majority of the money raised has been done over the past three weeks.

"I didn't anticipate we'd be this close," Arble said. "We figured we'd be trying to do it all year and try to raise up the money somehow. I feel bad even asking people for more, but it would be awesome for her to get this because it would give her the freedom she's never had."

Ontonagon school teacher Kristen Menigoz was in charge of planning the fundraiser for Anna. She was happy about the success of the fundraiser given the hard economic times Ontonagon has been going through.

"Ontonagon has been in trouble the last few years," Menigoz said. "There are many people unemployed. In a situation like this, ($8,000 is) how much we raised. It's incredible."

The event was held at the Konteka in White Pine, where about 200 people were in attendance. In addition to the spaghetti dinner fundraiser, raffles were held, as well.

Menigoz said Anna is almost always in an upbeat mood, despite the pain she feels on a daily basis.

Those who would like to donate can do so by going to fnd.us/c/bNUA8 or through Lake Superior Credit Union where a fund has been set up in Anna's name.